Vessel lining apparatus



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H. E. HlCKS ETAL VESSEL LINING APPARATUS Oct. 28, 1969 Original FiledJan. 16, 1964 Oct. 28, 1969 H. E. HICKS ETAL 3,474,651

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United States Patent 3,474,651 VESSEL LINING APPARATUS Harold E. Hicks,Kirkwood, and Charles L. Hibbeler, Lernay, Mo., assignors to NooterCorporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Originalapplication Jan. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 338,128, now Patent No. 3,311,971,dated Apr. 4, 1967. Divided and this application Jan. 9, 1967, Ser. No.608,058 Int. (ll. 321d 31/00 US. Cl. 72-118 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE Apparatus for expanding a continuous corrosion resistantliner into intimate contact with the inside of a large vessel or tank.The apparatus includes a rotatable bar mounted in the tank, and a feedscrew on the bar for moving a liner applying mechanism in a helical pathalong the inner surface of the liner. The liner applying mechanismincludes a plurality of cylinders, pistons in the cylinders and rollerson the ends of the pistons aligned With the path of rotation and asource of hydraulic pressure communicating with the cylinders to urgethe rollers into engagement with the liner.

Reference to other applications This application is a division of ourco-pending application of Hicks and Hibbeler Ser. No. 338,128, filedJan. 16, 1964, now Patent No. 3,311,971, issued Apr. 4, 1967.

The present invention relates to a method of lining vessels and to anapparatus for applying said liner. The present invention also relates toa method of making multiwall pressure vessels.

One of the problems in lining vessels or large tanks as well as inmaking multi-wall pressure vessels is achieving intimate contact betweenthe tank inner wall and the corrosion resistant lining throughout thesurface area of the tank. The present invention achieves this byexpanding a continuous corrosion resistant liner (stainless steel,zircalloy, zirconium or titanium, etc.) by means of a rotatingpressurized roller which expands the liner into intimate contact withthe inner surface of the vessel. In achieving this structure, a vesselwhich might be 30 feet long, 2 feet in diameter, and several inchesthick is provided with a liner which may be up to /2 inch thick andwhich is of slightly less outside diameter than the inside diameter ofthe vessel. The liner is slipped into the vessel, the mechanism isplaced within the liner, hydraulic pressure of the desired force isapplied to the rollers, and the mechanism is rolled through the vesselto force the liner outwardly into intimate contact with the innersurface of the tank. The ends of the liner then may be anchored inplace, and additional rolling of the liner will pre-stress the liner ina longitudinal direction as well as in a circumferential direction.

One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide amethod of applying a liner to a vessel whereby the liner is in intimatecontact with the inner surface of the vessel to which it is applied.Another principal object of the present invention is to provide a methodof making a multiwall vessel wherein the liner layers are givendifferent degrees of pre-stress which may be in the longitudinal as wellas the circumferential direction.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatusfor applying a liner to a vessel wherein the apparatus comprises spacedrollers hydraulically urged into engagement with the liner and rotatablewithin the vessel from end to end to roll the liner into closecontacting engagement with the inner surface of the vessel.

Another object is to provide a rotatable roller device which may bealigned with the helical angle of rotation to prevent end thrust on thefeed screw and to eliminate wear on the thrust washer holding the rollerin position.

These and other objects and advantages will become apparent hereinafter.

The present invention comprises a method of applying a liner to theinside of a vessel by expanding the liner outwardly into intimatecontact with the vessel. The present invention further comprises amechanism for applying a liner, said mechanism comprising spacedhydraulically energized rollers rotatable along the inner surface of aliner to expand the liner into engagement with a vessel wall.

In the drawings wherein like numbers refer to like parts wherever theyoccur:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the present invention applied 'to anopen ended vessel FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 22 of FIG.1,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view partly in section and partly in plan of theroller mechanism,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4,

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the roller and rolleractuating screw,

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line 77 of FIG. 6,

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view taken along line 88 of FIG. 1,

FIG. 9 is a sectional view partly in elevation showing the presentinvention applied to a closed end vessel,

FIG. 10 is an enlarged sectional view showing a spider adjusting meansshown in FIG. 9,

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line 11-11 of FIG. 10,

FIGS. 12-14 are enlarged fragmentary views partly in section and partlyin elevation showing the adjustment of the roller so that the axis ofthe roller is lined up with the helix curve of the path of rolling,

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary foreshortened view showing a structure forretaining a liner in a shell, and

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a method of retaining aliner in a shell when the liner cannot be welded directly to the shell.

The present invention comprises a liner applying machine 10 whichconsists of a solid cylindrical bar 11 mounted in bearings 12 and 13 atthe opposed ends thereof. A drive means 14 rotates the bar 11 through aworm drive gear mechanism 15 positioned in a housing 15a which alsohouses the bearings 13. A centering spider 16 carries the front bearing12 and is adjustable to center the bar 11 in the vessel 17. As shownmore clearly in FIG. 3, the centering spider 16 includes legs 16a heldin position against the inner surface of the vessel 17 by lock nuts1611.

A liner applying roller mechanism 18 is rotatably mounted on the bar 11and comprises a housing 19, and three spaced cylinders 20 connected inseries with an accumulator 21 (FIG. 2) by conduits 22, and connected toan outside source of hydraulic fluid H by a conduit 22a. Rotatablerollers 23 are mounted on axles 24 carried by pistons 25 mounted in thecylinders 20. The back side of each piston 25 is connected to anexpansible chamber 26' which is connected to the source of hydraulicfluid H through the conduits 22 and 22a. A half-nut 27 is mounted bysuitable means 28 on the housing 19 which supports the cylinders 20, andis threaded on its inner surface to engage a feed screw 29 mounted alongthe surface of the bar 11 (FIG. 6). A gear 29b is fastened to the end ofthe feed screw 29 and is meshed with a gear 290 which is connected to ahandle 30 which engages a stop 31 mounted on the base plate of thedevice. Therefore, when the bar 11 is rotated, the fixed gear 29arotates the gear 29b and the screw 29 with respect to the bar 11. Sincethe housing 19 is keyed to the bar 11, and therefore movable only in alongitudinal direction with respect to the bar 11, the rotation of thebar 11 also rotates the housing 19, and the rotation of the screw 29drives the housing 19 along the Outside of the bar 11.

In applying a lining to a vessel, the lining 32 is constructed to havean outside diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of thevessel, i.e., approximately 43" diameter difference, and positionedwithin the vessel. The bar 11 is fixed in the vessel 17 by adjusting thespider retainer 16, the outside source of hydraulic power H is connectedto the fluid lines 22 and 22a, and hydraulic power is applied to thepistons 25 through the expansible chamber 26. Normally the mechanism 18is near an open end of the vessel 17 for convenience. The pistons 25 aremoved outwardly into engagement with the inner surface of the liner 32(FIG. 2) and maintained there by the predetermined and suitablehydraulic pressure applied behind the pistons 25 which may be on theorder of 3000 psi. The fiuid also passes into the accumulator 21, whichis sealed and contains a gas (such as nitrogen). The gas is placed underpressure by the hydraulic fluid and maintains within close limits theproper hydraulic pressure on the pistons 25 regardless of minorvariations in diameter of vessel and liner, or expansion or leakage ofhydraulic fluid. When the pistons 25 are sufficiently pressurized, avalve 33 is closed and the fluid pressure source H is disconnected.

A pressure pump could be mounted directly on the mechanism 18 and rotatetherewith, if desired.

The motor 14 is energized and rotates the bar 11 through the drive gear15. The bar 11 rotates the cylinder housing 19 through the keying actionof the half-nut 27. As mentioned, the feed screw 29 and gear 2% areconnected to a second gear 29a at one end. The handle 30 and stop 31prevent rotation of the gear 29a during rotation of the bar 11, and ineffect rotate the screw 29 with respect to the bar 11 as the screw 29also rotates with the bar 11. Since the half-nut 27 also is threaded tothe screw 29, as the screw 29 is turned by the gear 2%, the half-nut 27(and the entire liner applying mechanism 18) are moved along the bar 11axially. As previously men tioned, the mechanism 18 also rotates withthe bar 11, so that the pistons 25 and the rollers 23 are rotated aroundand along the inner surface of the liner 32. This presses the liner 32outwardly into intimate contact with the inner surface of the vessel 17.

FIGS. 12-14 show a structure for rotating the rollers 23 so that therollers 23 are aligned with the helix angle of the path of rolling toprevent undue wear on the feed screw 29 or the roller thrust washers.Since the rollers 23 are pressing against up to one-half inch wallthickness in the liner 32, there is tremendous side thrust unless therollers 23 are rolling along the path of the helix.

The adjustment mechanism comprises a separated roller housing 34 whichretains the cylinder 20 and the piston 25. Lock bolts 35 are loosened toenable the cylinder 20 to be rotated with respect to the housing 34.When the proper angle of the roller 23 with respect to the housing 34 isobtained, the bolts 35 are tightened to lock the roller 23 in its newangular position.

FIGS. 9-11 show a modification used when the pressure vessel ,17a has aclosed end prior to application of the liner 32. In this modification,the gear 29a, handle 30, and stop 31 are positioned adjacent to the endof the vessel 17a at which the drive motor 14 is located.

The principal difference exists in the spider positioning means 36 whichsupports the end of the bar 11 within the vessel 17a. The spider 36supports a hearing 12 for the bar 11 and is adapted to be positionedwithin the vessel 17a from the open end of the vessel 17a. The spider 36is supported by four legs 37 slidably positioned in bore 38 in a spiderhousing 39 and adapted to engage the inner surface of the liner 32 orthe vessel 17a. The inner end of each leg 37 is provided with aninclined surface 40 cut at about a 45 angle. Each surface 40 ispositioned so as to face the open end of the vessel 17a.

A second bore 41 is formed in the housing 39 at right angles to thefirst bore 38 and facing the open end of the vessel 17a. A portion ofthe bore 41 is threaded at 42. A lock cam 43 having a tapered 45 surface44 is placed :in the forward end of the bore 41 so that the surface 44mates with the tapered surface 40 on the leg 37. A longitudinal keyway45 is positioned in the outer surface of the cam 43 and a key 46 engagesthe keyway 45 to permit the cam 43 to move only in an axial direction. Ascrew 47 engages the threaded portion of the bore 42 and may be rotatedfrom the open end of the vessel 17a to move the cam 43 into or out ofthe bore 41 and to correspondingly move the leg 37 out of or into thebore 38.

The present invention can be used to pro-stress the liner 32 in acircumferential direction, so that when the vessel 17 later is put underpressure in use, the stress in the liner 32 is as close to zero aspossible, because the corrosion resistance of the liner 32 is best whenit is at zero stress.

It is also possible to pre-stress the liner 32 in a longitudinaldirection by anchoring the ends of the liner 32 by the use of welds 48(FIG. 16). A subsequent rolling of the liner 32 produces longitudinalstretch, since the rolling action tends to lengthen the liner 32 (asmuch as 4-5 inches in a 15 foot liner). With the ends of the liner 32contained by the welds 48, the liner 32 cannot stretch and is thuspro-stressed. When the liner 32 is rolled onto the inner wall of thevessel 17, it is pre-stressed compressively in a circumferentialdirection. Thus in use, under internal pressure, the stresses tend toapproach zero in the liner 32.

If the vessel liner 32 is of a reactive material (such as titanium,zircalloy, etc.) which cannot be welded to steel (which normally is thenature of the vessel 17), an end closure such as shown in FIG. 16 may beused to retain the liner 32 in position. In this arrangement, a groove50 is formed in the end of the vessel 17b and threaded. A liner 32 isrolled into position against the inner surface of the vessel 17b. Atitanium end ring 51 is threaded into the vessel 17b and a titanium weld52 is deposited between the end of the liner 32 and the ring 51 to bondthe two together. A subsequent application of the liner apparatus willpro-stress the liner 32 in both the circumferential and longitudinaldirections.

As mentioned, the present invention can be used in making multi-wallvessels and would involve the rolling in of a plurality of liners orvessel walls in a manner similar to that hereinbefore described forapplying a single liner to a solid vessel. In accomplishing this, themulti-wall vessel would have the outer walls pre-stressed in tension andthe inner walls pre-stressed in compression so that when the tank isunder operating pressure, the stress distribution between the inner andouter layers will tend to be of same order of magnitude. As is wellknown, the stress in the inner wall rises considerably faster than thestress in the outer wall as the internal pressure of the vessel isincreased.

This invention is intended to cover all changes and modifications of theexamples of the invention herein chosen for purposes of the disclosure,which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for lining vessels comprising a main member adapted to bepositioned axially in a vessel, means for supporting said main memberwithin the vessel, a liner applying assembly mounted on the main member,said liner applying assembly comprising roller means adapted to engagethe inner surface of a liner positioned within the vessel, means fororienting the roller means with respect to a helical path of travel overthe inner surface on the liner, and means for engaging the roller withthe liner, and means for moving the roller means circumferentially andlongitudinally along the inner surface of the liner to force the lineragainst the inner surface of the vessel.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the liner applying assemblycomprises a plurality of roller means mounted on pistons movable incylinders positioned on housings mounted on the main member, saidhousings being transversely aligned with respect to the axis of the mainmember to reduce bending forces thereon when the rollers are engagedwith the inner surface of the liner, and a hydraulic pressure sourceconnected in series with expansible chambers behind the pistons in saidcylinders.

3. Apparatus for lining vessels comprising a main member adapted to bepositioned axially in a vessel, means for supporting said main memberwithin the vessel, a liner applying assembly mounted on the main member,said liner applying assembly comprising a plurality of roller meansmounted on pistons movable in cylinders positioned on housings mountedon the main member, and a hydraulic pressure source connected in serieswith expansible chambers behind the pistons in said cylinders tomaintain the roller means in engagement with the liner, the housingsbeing in two parts which may be opened to rotate the cylinders, pistons,and rollers with respect thereto, to orient the rollers with respect totheir helical path over the inner surface of the liner, and means formoving the roller means circumferentially and longitudinally along theinner surface of the liner to force the liner against the inner surfaceof the vessel,

4. Apparatus for lining vessels comprising a main member adapted to bepositioned axially in a vessel, support means for supporting said mainmember within the vessel, said main member being rotatably journaled insaid support means, a liner applying assembly mounted on the mainmember, said liner applying assembly comprising roller means adapted toengage the inner surface of a liner positioned within the vessel, andmeans for engaging the roller means with the liner, and means for movingthe roller means circumferentially and longitudinally along the innersurface of the liner to force the liner against the inner surface of thevessel including a feed screw positioned axially along the main memberand rotatable therewith, means restraining rotation of the feed screwwith respect to the main member, drive means for rotating the mainmember, and a collar in driving engagement with said feed screw andkeyed to the main member, whereby said collar moves longitudinally alongthe main member by means of the feed screw and rotates with the mainmember when said main member is rotated by the drive means, said collarholding the liner applying assembly.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein the means for engaging the rollermeans with the liner comprises a plurality of cylinders mounted on thecollar, pistons movable in the cylinders, the roller means being carriedby the pistons, and a hydraulic pressure source connected in series withexpansible chambers behind the pistons in said cylinders.

6. The structure of claim 5 wherein the hydraulic pressure source is anaccumulator mounted on the collar.

7. The structure of claim 5 wherein the cylinders are rotatable on thecollar, and including means for fixing the cylinders on the collar in apredetermined position whereby the rollers are aligned with their pathof rotation around and along the inner surface of the liner.

8. Apparatus for lining a vessel having a closed end and an open endcomprising a main member adapted to be positioned axially in a vessel,means for supporting said main member within the vessel adjacent to theclosed end, said means being adjustable from the open end of the vessel,a liner applying assembly mounted on the main member, said linerapplying assembly comprising roller means adapted to engage the innersurface of a liner positioned within the vessel, and means for movingand maintaining the roller in engagement with the liner, and means formoving the roller means circumferentially and longitudinally along theinner surface of the liner to force the liner against the inner surfaceof the vessel.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the support means includes a bodymember rotatably supporting the main member, said body member beingprovided with pairs of intersecting bores, movable legs extendingoutwardly from one of each of the body member bores toward the innervessel wall, said legs having a tapered inner edge, keys engaging thesecond of each bore pair, said keys being movable from the open end ofthe vessel and having an inclined cam edge adapted to engage theinclined edge on the leg to move the leg toward and away from the vesselwall.

10. Apparatus for lining vessels comprising a main member adapted to bepositioned axially in a vessel, said main member including a feed screwpositioned axially along the main member and rotatable therewith, meansrestraining rotation of the feed screw with respect to the main member,drive means for rotating the main member, and a half-nut in drivingengagement with said feed screw and keyed to the main member, wherebysaid halfnut moves longitudinally along the main member through the feedscrew and rotates with the main member when said main member is rotatedby the drive means, means for supporting said main member within thevessel, a liner applying assembly mounted on the main member, said linerapplying assembly comprising a plurality of cylinders mounted on thehalf-nut, pistons movable in the cylinders, roller means carried by thepistons, and a hydraulic pressure source connected in series withexpansible chambers behind the pistons in said cylinders, said cylindersbeing rotatable on the half-nut and including means for fixing thecylinders on the half-nut in a pre determined position whereby therollers are aligned with their path of rotation around and along theinner surface of the liner.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 adapted to be positioned into a closed endvessel wherein the support means includes a body member rotatablysupporting the main member, said body member being provided with pairsof intersecting bores, movable legs extending outwardly from one of eachof the body member bores toward the inner vessel wall, said legs havinga tapered inner edge, keys engaging the second of each bore pair, saidkeys being movable from the open end of the vessel and having aninclined cam edge adapted to engage the inclined edge on the leg to movethe leg toward and away from the vessel wall.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 958,517 5/1910 Mettler 72-1221,166,040 12/1915 Burlingham 72-393 2,936,020 5/1960 Thomburg et a1.721l7 CHARLES W. LANHAM, Primary Examiner L. A. LARSON, AssistantExaminer US. Cl. X.R.

